Crash witness sues 49ers’ Culliver over brass-knuckles incident

San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver is being sued by the man who says the football player threatened him with brass knuckles after Culliver allegedly slammed into a bicyclist in San Jose and tried to flee.

This image provided by the San Jose Police Department shows 49ers cornerback Christopher Culliver, who was arrested Friday March 28, 2014 on suspicion of felony hit and run and reckless driving. (AP Photo/San Jose Police Department)

Culliver, 25, was driving recklessly in his Ford Mustang on a suspended license when he struck a bicyclist shortly after 10 a.m. March 28 at Tully Road and South Seventh Street in south San Jose, police said.

As Culliver left the scene, Marc Santos, who witnessed the crash, followed Culliver in his sport utility vehicle and cornered him on a nearby street, police said.

In a lawsuit filed last month in Santa Clara County Superior Court, Santos said Culliver got out of his car and threatened him with brass knuckles before trying to flee again. Culliver’s alleged escape attempt was thwarted when he ran into Santos’ Yukon Denali, the suit says.

Santos’ wife and three children were with him in the SUV. None of them was injured.

Officers arrived and arrested Culliver without incident. He was booked into Santa Clara County jail and has pleaded not guilty to charges of misdemeanor hit-and-run and felony possession of brass knuckles.

The bicyclist suffered minor injuries, police said.

Santos said in the suit that he and his family were the victims of “violent, reckless, oppressive, malicious, depraved, despicable and morally reprehensible crimes and other related behavior committed by” Culliver, who acted “by way of self-centered arrogance.”

The suit seeks unspecified damages. It was filed on behalf of Santos, his wife and children.

Culliver has not responded to the suit in court. The 49ers have declined to comment on the situation beyond confirming that they were aware of his arrest.

Santos’ attorney, Braid Pezzaglia, said Culliver’s alleged actions were a symptom of larger problems in professional football.

“Players in the NFL today act with arrogance and impunity because of the stature that our society places upon them,” Pezzaglia said. “We do not see the abundance of violent and aggressive behaviors in other professional sports such as the NBA, NHL and MLB. … The men and women we send into combat and (to) fight for our country, who see and experience the most horrific of circumstances, do not return home and exhibit these same inappropriate behaviors with a sense of entitlement.”

The 49ers drafted Culliver out of South Carolina University in the third round of the 2011 NFL draft. He sat out all of last season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee.

Culliver may be best known for comments he made before the 2013 Super Bowl, in which he said a gay player wouldn’t be welcome on the 49ers.

He later apologized, saying, “They were very ugly comments, and that’s not what I feel in my heart. Hopefully, I can learn and grow from this experience and this situation.”